By Jasmine Tang
Contributing Writer
Jennifer Lawrence stars in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1,” reprising her role as Katniss Everdeen. Photo Courtesy of Lionsgate.
“You’re going to be the best dressed rebel in history.”
That one line pretty much sums up the experience of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.” Fresh out of the arena, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”) finds herself quite literally thrust into the spotlight when she is asked to become the Mockingjay, a symbolic leader, for the rebels of Panem. Katniss must navigate television ads, wardrobe issues and words of encouragement from her former mentors in order to move a step closer to defeating the elusive President Snow (Donald Sutherland, “The Italian Job”).
As the first-half of a two-part movie, “Mockingjay – Part 1” adequately fulfills its role as a stepping-stone for the finale. It pales in comparison to its predecessor, the highly-acclaimed “Catching Fire,” but succeeds in bridging the gap from the action-packed second movie to the (hopefully) astounding finale.
“Mockingjay – Part 1” takes flight a few months after “Catching Fire” abandoned us in the moment that Katniss Everdeen learns that her hometown of District 12 was destroyed by the wicked Capitol, who rules over the impoverished districts of Panem.
We meet Katniss Everdeen once again, as she has been shuttled off to District 13 after defying the Capitol yet again and literally exploding her way out of her second Hunger Games. Jennifer Lawrence expertly portrays the fractured, shell of a person that remains after she loses everything. Her partner Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson, “Red Dawn”) was captured by the malicious Capitol at the end of the last movie and is used throughout the film to bait Katniss in a cat-and-mouse game between our dear femme fatale and the sadistic President Snow.
Julianne Moore (“Children of Men”) was also introduced in this film as the President Alma Coin of District 13, a stern, tight-lipped woman who doesn’t bow down to anyone, not even Katniss Everdeen, the beloved Mockingjay. However, her scenes are mundane and lacking in the fire required to accurately capture the determined nature of the woman who is seeking to take down the Capitol.
President Alma Coin attempts to unite the districts against the Capitol, a difficult feat since the majority of people in Panem remained oppressed by Snow. These feeble attempts cause the first half of the film to lack the energy that was evident in “Catching Fire.” The lack of action created a tension amongst viewers, who were unsure when the movie was going to take off.
But everything seems to shift after Lawrence’s highly anticipated rendition of “The Hanging Tree.” Her voice is enticing and it is enough to electrify the people of Panem into revolt. Lawrence’s song seems to awaken the people in their seats who were beginning to lose interest in the mundane wartime saga that comprises the first half of the movie.
Woody Harrelson (“True Detective”) brings much-needed comedic relief to the film in his reprisal of Haymitch Abernathy, the (formerly) drunken mentor to Katniss, and his scenes are a welcome change against the seemingly tiresome ones that occur in the bunker-like board room with Alma Coin.
Elizabeth Banks (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin”) aids in his endeavors to make the audience laugh in her reprisal of Effie Trinket. Banks brings new dimension to a character who has been stripped from the frills of her former life. Her butterfly-applique dress and 12-inch tall pink wig are replaced with a jail-like jumpsuit and headscarf (and never-ending sass to match). With her world turned upside down, Effie struggles to make the transition from Capitol Barbie to a self-proclaimed prisoner of war, even though her only choice was to flee or risk being killed by Snow.
Director Francis Lawrence (“I Am Legend”) did a phenomenal job at recreating the militaristic, stringent conditions that the characters are living under in the novel. Although the dialogue sometimes adheres too closely with lines from the novel to feel authentic, the actors are generally able to seamlessly incorporate them into a natural dialogue.
Fans speculated about where the split between parts one and two would occur. Many believed that part one of “Mockingjay” would end with an overly dramatic scene, intended to up the shock factor and leave fans clamoring for more as seen in previous sagas that split the final novel into two such as “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” and “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.” But Director Lawrence doesn’t give the fans the cliché ending that they predicted. He goes past the moment of horror you experience when Peeta lunges at Katniss, and he is eventually knocked cold. Instead, he shows the aftermath of this moment, leaving us with characters that are physically and mentally shaken and in their most emotionally vulnerable state yet. Although we are not left gasping in our seats to discover the outcome of the infamous choking scene, we are indeed left with characters that sit before us like an open book. Only then does Lawrence choose to close the chapter.
The movie seems to come full circle at this moment, with Jennifer Lawrence departing from us in a similar state to the one we found her in: broken.
Any of the movie’s previous shortcomings are forgotten. Part one definitely served its function: I am only left waiting for part two and wishing that it wouldn’t be an entire year until these characters grace the screen again.
As for the breathtaking song that Jennifer Lawrence sang? Let’s just say it was the perfect one for when the screen went black.
– By Jasmine Tang, Contributing Writer
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